Etymology and origin of the Proto-Germanic word *upp
- Confidence
- Established
- From
- Proto-Indo-European *upo
Derivations
Reconstruction
Wiktionary heads the adverb *upp;[1] Kroonen heads it *eup ~ *upp, with the full grade of the Gothic form,[2] Orel *uppa,[3] and Köbler *ūp, *upp and *upa.[4]
Etymology
Köbler has it from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“under, up”).[4] Kroonen derives it from *(h₁e)up-n- and relates it to *uba "under; above", from *h₁up-o.[5]
Morphology
An ablauting adverb of direction.[2] In Kroonen's account the geminate arose regularly in the locative *uppai from *up-noi, and was shortened in the full-grade form; he leaves open whether *eup and *upp had a suffix *-e or *-a or were simply back-formed from the locative by removing its ending.[6] The long vowel of Old High German ūf is due to the lengthening of monosyllables.[7] Fulk describes the Northwest Germanic *upp- as a geminated form of *uƀ-.[8]
Evidence
The adverb is attested in all three branches, with different grades: Gothic 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup) in Gothic, Old Norse upp in Old Norse, and Old English up, Old Frisian up, Old Saxon up and Old High German ūf in West Germanic.[2] Kroonen's study of the n-stems finds that Gothic points to a root *eup- in all its case forms, while North and West Germanic add the variants *upp- and *ub-.[9] The Gothic adverb is in Wulfila's Bible, at John 11:41, Luke 19:5 and Romans 10:7.[10] Holthausen called the Gothic word obscure.[11]
Competing analyses
Orel takes *uppa as a geminated form of *uƀa, cites Johansson's derivation from *up-nó, and derives Gothic 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup) from *eup(p)a.[3] Wiktionary allows two origins: from *ub with a nasal affix, from an earlier *up-nó, or by analogy with *uppai.[1] Lehmann explains the double p as emphatic gemination, after K. Johansson 1891.[12] Feist derived the Old English and Old Saxon forms from *up-no- or *ub-no-, and the Old High German one from *úpo.[13]
Meanings
Derivatives
- The locative *uppai, from *up-noi.[2]
- *uppōn "up, above", in Orel.[14]
- *upanaz "open", which looks like the past participle of a verb derived from *upp, otherwise unattested;[15] Orel also derives it from *uppa with the suffix of the strong past participle.[16]
- *uppijaną "to lift, to raise; to reveal",[17] Orel's *uppjanan.[18]
- *ubiswō "eaves", a close relative.[19]
Reflexes
- Gothic: 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup, “up, upwards”)[10]
- Old Norse: upp (“upwards”)[20]
- Old English: upp (“up, upwards”)[21]
- Old Frisian: up (“upwards, up”)[22]
- Old Saxon: upp (“up, upwards”)[23]
- Old High German: ūf (“up, upon”)[24]
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *upp
- ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 120
- ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *uppa
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ūp
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 120, 556
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 120–121
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 121
- ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. iup
- ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 54
- ^ Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. uf
- ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. uf
- ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *uppōn
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *upanaz
- ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *upanaz
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uppijaną
- ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *uppjanan
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ubiswō
- ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. upp
- ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. upp
- ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. up
- ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. UPP
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ūf
Related etymologies
- *stainaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *beraną · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *fadēr · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *watōr · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *ga- · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *frijaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *fallaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
- *standaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry
“*upp.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gem-pro/*upp. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·